To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
by labgeekluvr
Summary: Greg seeks out Sofia after he is threatened by Aaron James and served with a civil suit.
1. Chapter 1

Title: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

Time: After Post-Mordem

Rating: M

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, all belong to the writers of CBS and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

Sofia pulled into her driveway and noticed a strange, yet vaguely familiar car parked in front of her house. Upon exiting her vehicle and approaching her front door she encountered the strange car's owner sitting on her front steps. He was visibly shaken, tears brimming his chocolate-brown eyes and streaking his clean-shaven cheeks.

"Greg," Sofia said, sitting down on the steps next to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I didn't know where else to go," Greg stammered. "I didn't want to go back to the office. I didn't want to be alone at home..." Greg's voice trailed off, and he began trembling. Sofia reached up and touched his face. Her hand felt cool and soft against Greg's flushed cheek.

"Come inside, and tell me what happened," Sofia whispered, taking Greg's hand. She opened her door and led Greg into her living room. She invited him to have a seat while she grabbed two bottles of beer from the fridge and opened them. She handed one to Greg as she sat down next to him on the couch.

"So what happened? The inquest went fine. It wasn't exactly the outcome we were hoping for, but it certainly cleared you of any criminal intent," Sofia said.

Greg took a sip from his beer, then pulled a paper from his breast pocket and handed it to Sofia.

"A civil suit?" Sofia asked, glancing at the paper. "You've got to be kidding me."

"That's not all," Greg said softly. "Aaron, Demtrius' brother, threatened me in the restroom. And then right after I got these papers he nearly ran over me with his car."

"Wait a minute," Sofia said, agitated. "He threatened you? Did anyone witness this? Was anyone else in the parking garage?"

"There was another man in the restroom, but I have no idea who he was or if he even saw or heard anything," Greg said. "And I have no idea about anyone else being in the parking garage. All I was concerned about was the grill of an SUV coming at me."

Sofia reached over and took Greg's trembling hand in hers. "Wll, we have the lawyer's name on this summons. Maybe we can find out who delivered it, see if he saw anything," she said softly.

"Won't do any good, he'll just deny it, like they're denying everything else about what happened," Greg said, growing more agitated. "I was just doing my job," he said, tears choking his voice.

Sofia grasped his chin and turned his face towards hers, looking into his eyes. "That's right, you were just doing your job. You have nothing to be ashamed of," she said firmly.

"Then why am I being made out to be the bad guy?" Greg asked tearfully.

Sofia took Greg's beer and set it on the coffee table. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. "You're not the bad guy, Greg. You weren't the one running around with a gang of masked thugs, beating up tourists. You saved a man's life," Sofia said tenderly.

"I took a man's life," Greg sobbed.

"A man who was armed with a rock, ready to hurl it at your head," Sofia said, breaking their embrace to take Greg's face in her hands. "You did nothing wrong."

"I wish I felt that way," Greg said. "I wish the nightmares would stop. I wish I could sleep. I wish this never happened," Greg said, bursting into sobs.

Sofia took him into her arms again, rocking him and stroking his hair as he cried. As his sobs subsided, she took his face gently into her hands and kissed him gently on the lips. The kiss, combined with the effects of alcohol, fatigue, and his racing emotions, gave him a heady feeling. He pulled back briefly, laying his head back against the couch.

"Are you alright?" Sofia asked. Immediately she began to regret what had happened. "I'm sorry. I took things to far, I got a little carried away. Let me get you another beer," she said, moving to pick up the bottles on the table.

Greg grabbed her hands. "No, it's okay," he said, pulling her back into his arms and laying down on his back. "Kiss me again," he pleaded, gazing into her eyes.

She kissed him, and he responded passionately. He lay back and let the cares of the day wash away as Sofia covered him with comforting kisses and caresses.

"Sofia," he whispered breathlessly as passion overtook him.

She smiled, knowing she had pleased him and eased his troubled mind, at least for the moment.

"I love the way you say my name," she whispered back.

"Sofia," he whispered again, smiling.

"Shhh," she whispered, touching his lips with her fingertips. He kissed and nibbled them softly. "Sleep now," she whispered, pressing his head to her shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. He gradually fell into a peaceful sleep as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Sleep well, Angel," Sofia whispered. "And sweet dreams."


	2. Chapter 2

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream, Chapter 2

While Greg slept peacefully in her arms, Sofia found herself unable to sleep. Her mind kept racing. "How did this happen? Where did these feelings come from all of a sudden?" She thought back over the past couple years, how she watched Greg grow from a trainee to a competent CSI. She had helped him on a couple of his first field assignments, and she remembered they were hard for him. First getting shot at and finding a dead child in a plastic storage container, then dealing with a severe burn case. Already in those early days she could witness a change happening in the young man, his free spirit was starting to become weighed down by the horrible things he saw out in the field. She had advised him not to lose his sense of humor, and she was pleased that he managed to retain a great deal of his charm.

She had always thought he was kinda cute, perhaps a little too young for him. For the longest time she had her eye on Gilbert Grissom, but anytime she had any hope of getting somewhere, Sara Sidle would stick her nose in, make some snide comment, or sulk. She knew Greg had a thing for Sara at one time, and as she held him she wondered if that could possibly still be true.

She thought back to the night Greg was beaten by the fannysmackers–the group of thugs who were terrorizing tourists by beating and robbing them. Greg had been pulled from his vehicle and beaten after he tried to stop the gang from beating another tourist. In the process he ran over Demetrius James, whose subsequent death became the source of his legal troubles. She remember Brass notified her of a 419, and that Greg Sanders was one of the victims. A look of concern must have crossed her face, because Brass asked her if she would be okay.

"I'll be fine," Sofia told him, steeling herself for what lay ahead.

It was still dark when she arrived at the alley where Greg, Demetrius, and the beaten tourist still lay. After the tourist and Demetrius had been secured, Sofia walked over to where Greg was lying. He was barely conscious.

"Hey, kiddo," she whispered.

"So-Sofia?" Greg stammered softly. "I'm glad you guys are here. Is the team here yet?"

"They're on their way. They'll be here any minute now. How are you feeling?"

"Cold, and dizzy," Greg said softly. "I keep fading in and out."

"I'll have the paramedics check you right away, okay?" Sofia said.

"Okay. Sofia?" Greg whispered

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Will you stay with me until the team gets here?" Greg asked.

"Of course I will. Just let me go get the paramedic, okay? I'll be right back."

After the paramedic had stabilized Greg, Sofia stayed by his side until members of the team began to arrive. Nick and Warrick stopped by to check in on Greg and then went to process the vehicle and keep the crowds under control. Sofia saw Sara arriving.

"There's Sara. I'm going to go fill her in and send her over to process you, okay?" she said.

"Okay. What about the scene?" Greg asked.

"Don't you worry about that, it's taken care of. I'll see you later," she said, softly tousling his brown wavy hair.

Sara was visible upset. Sofia did her best to reassure her that the paramedics had stabilized him. She watched from a distance and witnessed Sara kneel down and run her fingers through Greg's hair, like she had just done. Feelings of jealousy began to well up inside her. Once again, Sara Sidle had stuck her nose in...

"Get a hold of yourself, Curtis," Sofia said to herself. "It's Sara's job to be here. This is not the time nor the place for you to get jealous."

Sofia was brought back to reality when she began to feel Greg stirring. He was having another nightmare. She ran her fingers through his hair, trying to soothe him back to sleep, but to no avail. He awoke suddenly with a start and sat straight up, shaking.

"It's alright, Greg. It's alright," Sofia said, trying to calm him.

"Sofia, what..." Greg started, apparently disoriented for a moment.

"You were having another nightmare," Sofia said, touching his face gently.

"Yeah, it was about that night," Greg said softly.

"The night you were beaten, the night Demetrius was killed?" Sofia asked. Greg nodded. "What happened in your dream?"

"Pretty much the same thing that always happens. I see myself running over Demetrius over and over again. Then suddenly I'm pulled from my car and I'm being beaten by the others who were there. But this time it was different." Greg said.

"How so?" Sofia asked.

"Usually I can't see the faces of the people who are beating me. But this time..." Greg's eyes began to fill with tears, and Sofia took his hand. "This time I could see Aaron's face, and he kept saying over and over again that he was going to kill me."

Sofia took Greg in her arms and held him tight, lying back down. "There, there. It was just a dream. You're here, safe in my arms. Nothing can hurt you here." She felt him relax and resumed running her fingers through his hair. "I was thinking about that night too. That night made me realize that I care about you very much."

"I remember you were there. You stayed with me until the team got there. I never told you how much I appreciated that," Greg said softly.

"All in a day's work, kiddo," Sofia said.

"Are you sure that's all it was? You just said that night made you realize you had feelings for me," Greg said.

"Well actually, I don't think I actually realized...until Sara arrived and took over processing you," Sofia said.

"You were jealous, huh?" Greg smiled.

"Maybe a little," Sofia confessed. "Sara and I have a bit of a rivalry going."

Greg hugged Sofia tightly. "You have nothing to worry about where Sara is concerned. She was never interested in anything beyond friendship with me. Yeah, she was rather affectionate with me that morning in the alley, but I just owe that to our friendship and her being supportive, nothing more than that."

"Are you saying that you have feelings for me?" Sofia asked.

"I have for a while actually, ever since you helped me out when I was getting started in the field," Greg said.

"Really? That long ago?" Sofia asked.

"Yeah. I had always looked up to you, and felt bad that Ecklie had demoted you, which was totally bogus, but that's Ecklie. And even though I miss seeing you around the lab, I think it's great you became a detective. You're doing a great job," Greg said softly.

"So are you, baby," Sofia whispered.

Greg fell silent. "Are you okay?" Sofia whispered. When he didn't answer Sofia knew he had fallen back to sleep. She kissed his forehead, and closed her eyes, leaning her head against his, allowing herself to dream along with him.


End file.
